A former hunter and active member of the Ornis Committee is proposing a workable idea through which hunters can govern themselves and tackle the problem of illegal hunting at source.

Henry Fenech Azzopardi, acting as expert on hunting for the Ornis Committee, is suggesting a "voluntary warden" system, which would involve 200 hunters keeping an eye on proceedings during the hunting season.

He said: "I simply want to get the ball rolling so there could eventually be an active body that would allow hunters to be self-regulating".

The "voluntary warden" hunters could hunt alongside their counterparts and act as a deterrent to stop illegal activity from taking place, similar to how wardens deter people from talking on their mobile phones or not wearing a seatbelt while driving.

According to Mr Fenech Azzopardi, the police are not adequately equipped to enforce hunting laws, so the "voluntary warden" system would help them in their efforts simply by being present on popular hunting grounds. Naturally, if there were repeat offenders, the matter would be taken up within the legal system.

He emphasised that constant disagreement between the hunter's federation (FKNK) and BirdLife Malta had had a bad effect on hunting in Malta, saying the actions of a select few who shot at protected species harmed the vast law-abiding majority.

He said: "When I spoke to the FKNK about this idea, they said it had been proposed for a long time. If it is not something new, then why wasn't something done previously?"

Sensationalism related to hunting issues or incidents in the media had greatly contributed to the negative perception of all hunters, he added.

He urged the media to check its facts on hunting incidents before publishing a story with incorrect figures.

Mr Fenech Azzopardi invited anyone interested in taking part in the scheme to contact him via e-mail at henryhfatravel@onvol.net so that a team of "voluntary warden" hunters could be assembled in time for the spring hunt.

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